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“We need to get out of here.” I grab Mack’s hand, and we race from the room and down the flights of stairs until we reach the massive foyer.
A raging fire consumes the front doors.
The overwhelming stench of gasoline mixes with the smoke billowing into my lungs. Mack coughs violently beside me.
“I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”
Both of our hearts stop at the sound of Trevor’s bone-chilling voice behind us.
I grab Mack’s hand as we spin, squeezing it gently to reassure her. I won’t let this motherfucker get his hands on her again.
When her gaze lands on him, she takes an involuntary step back, hanging onto my hand for dear life.
I hate that she’s gotten roped into this. That she has to face him again.
“You’re blonde now.” He steps closer, and I stand in front of her, shielding her from him.
“Don’t talk to her. Don’t even look at her.”
“Why did you leave me, Mack?” His voice actually cracks like he’s somehow the victim in all this.
That’s what’s so dangerous about men like Trevor. They never see the true villain in the mirror.
“Because you hurt her. You tried to kill her, asshole!” I snap.
Mack’s hand trembles in mine. “How did you find me?”
He takes another step forward, his voice eerily tender in a way I’ve never heard before. “It took a lot of digging and bribery. A lot of searching through surveillance cameras and tracking your stops at different ATMs. Eventually, I found out you ended up somewhere around Auburn, Maine. But even after we were in the same city, I couldn’t find you.” A watery smile crosses his face. “Until now.”
Silence falls around us as Mack takes another step back, too terrified to speak.
“Why did you come after me?” I demand. I already know the answer, but I need to hear him say it. Confess to all his sins.
His gaze snaps to me, like he’s finally registering my existence. “Look at you two. You could be sisters. She had your hair, before she left. Before she disappeared.”
Before she bleached it to hide from him.
“You followed me here, didn’t you? When I went on a writing retreat for a month. You couldn’t stand not knowing where I was that long. That’s when you watched through the window while Saint fucked me.”
His mouth curls into a snarl, churning the bile in my gut. “You had a crazed stalker on the loose. Of course I had to know where you were. Then I saw him fucking you...” He squeezes his eyes shut. In that moment, it was probably Mack he saw on that table with Saint. “That’s when I knew for sure he’d gotten to you. So I had to make you see reason.”
All of the pieces of this horrible, gruesome puzzle click together. The smoke is thickening now, drifting up to the towering ceiling. Behind me, Mack wheezes.
“So you waited until he left me alone. And you cut the power and chased me through the manor.”
“I needed you to realize how dangerous he is. I needed to get you away from him.”
“All because I look like Mack.”
Silent tears are falling down her cheeks now, her hand squeezing mine so hard, my fingers tingle. But I’m not letting her go.
His beady eyes drift back to Mack behind me. “I thought I’d lost you forever. That I was too late. I thought you were dead.” His voice cracks and I want to smack him for daring to act heartbroken about Mack’s death when he wanted to kill her himself. He holds out his hand to her. “Now I’ve finally found you again. We can be together.”
He’s out of his fucking mind.
Mack steps up beside me, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin even as she continues to shake. “I’m not going anywhere with you, James. I’m done.”
In seconds, his eyes morph from gentle and hopeful to cold and empty. The same way they did when I rejected him.
